


Life is Spilling Out

by whiteraven1606



Series: Three [15]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dreamsharing, Force Ghosts, Force Visions, Kidnapping, Lightsabers, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protectiveness, Rebellion, Rescue Missions, Sith, Stormtrooper Culture, Stormtrooper Rebellion, Surprises, That's Not How The Force Works, The Force, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 20:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9515204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiteraven1606/pseuds/whiteraven1606
Summary: Hux's day goes from annoying to terrible. He blames Captain Phasma and the present she brought with her.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a series. If you haven't read the other parts you should start with them. It's pretty involved by this point.
> 
> Also, ART! Go flail at the pretty: http://kiyomisa.deviantart.com/gallery/59449983/Three I just want to say thank you so much to Kiyomisa for making things for this mess I've written. They are all lovely!
> 
> Remember Kaleine's Force vision? Yes, so it isn't any Lightside folk, k? Okay.

****

Finn squirmed as something tapped him on the face.

"Finn!"

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and then cracked them open. Kaleine shouldn't sound that panicked. "What?" He blinked up at the branches of the Poe's tree framing Kaleine's face. She was in her speckled space armor from the dreamscape. Finn tried to push himself upright, but everything _hurt_ and he flopped back with a groan.

"Finn, Poe will forgive me, right?" Kaleine was pulling at her own armor.

Finn frowned as he forced himself to blink several times, trying to make everything make more sense. "Forgive you? For what?"

Kaleine glanced at him and then there was a little glowing dagger sized lightsaber in his face. Kaleine looked even more frantic as the glow of the saber washed her face in silver light. "I had to come into his head. I can't get him awake quickly. I can't get anyone awake fast enough, but I _know_ what she did. We're going to lightspeed soon. I..." She looked at the saber in her hand and then over her shoulder, before turning back to Finn. "I'm sorry. I don't have any time." She rammed the little saber into his head.

Finn screamed as he could feel the saber burning into him...

****

Finn bolted upright. Everything was... _more_. He licked his lips as he tried to adjust to the difference. 

_The Force doesn't work like that._

He shook his head and listened to the sense that said everyone on base was laid out. Laying in the corridors, face down on their consoles, droids frantically beeping and talking around them all.

BB-8 bumped the edge of the bed.

Finn patted BB-8 gently. "It'll be..." He coughed and cleared his throat. "Hold on." He _remembered_ her. Lady Jade. The lessons between the things the First Order had wanted them to know. He blinked. "The Force doesn't work like that." Except when it did. Except when it _made_ things go so things _continued_. Finn nudged BB-8 with his foot as he reached across Poe's sprawled form to pinch Rey. "It'll be okay. I'll wake them up for you. Go prep Poe's X-Wing, please. We'll be needing it."

He listened to BB-8 roll away beeping mournfully as he leaned so he wasn't putting weight on Poe. He tried not to think about Lady Jade, because at the moment he might be able to _find_ her and Finn didn't think he was ready for that.

Rey jolted as he pinched her shoulder. "What the..." She shook her head and reached up to hold it like it was hurting her. "What happened?"

"Satine knocked everyone out."

"What? Why?" Rey frowned at him.

Finn shrugged as he pulled on Poe. He wasn't ready for any of this. "It's complicated?"

Rey huffed and knelt up as Finn shook Poe gently. "You feel different."

Finn glanced up at her as he shook Poe a little harder and _wanted_ him awake. "I'm not blocked from the Force any longer."

Poe groaned. "No, no, no."

Rey bracketed Finn's hands on Poe. "Easy. We're not him."

Poe slitted his eyes open. "Anyone get the number of the TIE that sideswiped my X-Wing?"

Finn patted him firmly. "Come on, Poe. Kaleine's in trouble."

Poe flailed as Rey pushed while Finn pulled. "Kaleine is always in trouble."

"So is Master Luke."

Poe brushed them off as he blinked at his boots before starting to pull them on. "I don't think that's all that new either."

Rey snorted as she pulled her hair back into their buns. "Finn?"

Finn made a face and closed his eyes. "There is someone...no, two beings coming into land. They feel like..." He opened his eyes. "Not First Order, but I don't know them."

Poe frowned thoughtfully as he stood up and pulled his flight suit up to his waist. "Alright. There's no alert, so it can't be that bad."

Finn shook his head. "Everyone is down, I think."

Rey frowned. "Feels like it." She squinted at him. "Finn?"

He drew a breathe as Poe and Rey both eyed him. "I can do this." _The Force doesn't work like that._ "I can do this." He closed his eyes and let himself _expand_.

****

Poe pulled his flight suit up over his shoulders and ran his arms out into the sleeves as Finn stood very still and breathed. It didn't make him feel like being back in that room with Kyolo Ren forcing himself into Poe's brain as the air around him felt _different_. It felt more like Rey's little checks, like Luke's more firm checks, like the General's soft brushes, but more _Finn_ feeling... Poe blinked rapidly as an all base alert sounded. He glanced up at the ceiling, but the sound wasn't coming from the speaker...Poe felt his mouth dropping open as he stared at Finn.

Rey snatched up her staff from the corner by the door. "When he ever hear that to make it sound so life like?"

Poe snapped his mouth closed and swallowed hard. Finn had not heard it, but Poe had. Poe had heard it numerous times. "I don't know."

Finn opened his eyes. "Okay. Everyone is waking up, but the two people I don't know are still coming."

Poe nodded. "Let's go."

****

Lando cursed as he dodged a transport that was going out as he lined up with the Resistance hanger bay. "What the kriff was _that_ Flight?"

Wedge frowned as Flight didn't answer them. "It's already gone to lightspeed." He tapped a few controls. "Flight?"

They shared a look as Flight didn't answer.

Lando sat them down as fast as he thought he could get away with. It was one thing to have Leia's base just _appear_ on the scanners after sending a hail out. It was another thing to have a transport buzz them as they came in. Leia ran a better organized base than that no matter what else was going to rancor shit around her. "Something's wrong."

Wedge unstrapped and grabbed up a blaster as Lando popped the hatch. "Agreed."

Lando followed him and pulled up short at the tiny Stormtrooper, at least Lando thought that's what he was looking at, no helmet, but armor otherwise, with a pinched little face peering over a crate at them. Lando tried to smile nicely. "Uhm. Hello? Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?"

The adult sized blaster didn't waver as the little Stormtrooper's face hardened. "Identify yourselves."

Wedge leaned towards Lando. "Where'd he get a blaster?" He kept his blaster down and his empty hand spread to be seen easily.

Lando was about to ask him why that even mattered at the moment when was a roar from the _Falcon_ , where it sat to one side of the line of X-Wings with a small droid rolling around under one of them.

The Stormtrooper turned their head slightly towards the _Falcon_ , without taking their eyes off Lando and Wedge. "I'm only borrowing it! We can't get our blasters from the armory without an adult, but there wasn't time for that. I was the closest. They are intruders!"

Chewie roared again as he loped down the _Falcon_ 's ramp with his bowcaster in hand, only to stop at the bottom of the ramp.

Lando waved until the little Stormtrooper started to glare at him. "Hey, Chewie. How's it going?"

Chewie huffed, approached the Stormtrooper, and took the blaster from the child despite any protests. He patted the child on the head as he grumbled to Lando about pups being forced into armor they shouldn't have had to wear.

Wedge eased his free hand down as the child tried to take the blaster back, which made Chewie hold it up over his own head. "We did have permission from Flight to land."

The child turned to glare at them. "How would I know that? Also, you could be lying."

Lando nodded. "That is true, but Chewie knows us."

The doors leading further into the base slid open as the child crossed his arms over his chest armor.

"I was the closest."

Several people came through the door as Chewie complained to Lando about the number of children that could fit onto the _Falcon_. 

The adult male that was wearing Stormtrooper boots pulled the little Stormtrooper against his side. "You did good, Noilo. Everything will be fine."

The boy teared up. "We all dropped when Satine hit us. Kaleine dodged it, but she had to go with them because they _took_ Master Luke." He wrapped himself around the newcomer. "I'm sorry, Finn."

"Nothing to be sorry for. You were defending the base. You exceeded expectations." Finn looked towards them and Lando frowned at the feeling of something sweeping through him. "Hello. I'm Finn."

Lando blinked the feeling away as Wedge introduced them. "Why is a kid defending the base?"

Poe Dameron, looking so much like a mix of his parents that it made Lando's brain hurt a little, grimaced. "He's an ex-Stormtrooper."

Lando watched Wedge's hand tighten on his blaster so much his knuckles were straining. "I knew they stole children, but..." He knelt down to the child's level. "Thank you for not shooting first."

Noilo frowned, but nodded. "Same." He turned his face up to look at Poe. "Are they allies?"

Poe soothed a hand over the child's head. "Yes, they are."

Noilo eyed them. "Good, then they can help get Kaleine and Master Luke back."

****

Luke blinked at the starscape floating around him.

"You need to stay asleep."

He rolled his head to find himself tucked into a fold in the Force with Kaleine. "Please tell me you are safe."

She frowned. "Yes? Does that matter?"

Luke groaned as he sat up. "Yes, it matters, padawan."

"Oh." Kaleine patted his shoulder. "Uhm, okay. I'm safe. TA-175 says he has enough parts from Master Jinn that I can build a lightsaber, but I don't have a blaster. I could have stolen one when we changed ships, but I thought Poe would be upset if I stole something."

Luke didn't tell her he thought Poe wouldn't have minded if it had resulted in her being armed. "Changed ships?"

"Phasma is taking us towards _him_."

Luke pulled Kaleine close. "It'll be alright."

Kaleine huffed. "Don't lie. You think we're going to die." She patted his shoulder again. "I don't mind. Stormtroopers die." She grinned. "I'm not one anymore though. I'm a Jedi Trooper now. I have decided we much harder to kill than ordinary Troopers."

Luke smiled. "Jedi Trooper, huh?"

Kaleine nodded. "KN-0125 thought of it." She gestured around them. "Can you stay in here, please? You are safer this way."

****

Kes Dameron rolled over, grumbling to himself, as the dream of a nice picnic with his wife and son slipped away from him. He slapped at the beeping communications notice and squinted as the display lit up brighter.

He sat up as the message started to play.

The holo held a little girl in form fitting clothing. She was frowning between the capture point and the droid standing at her back. "Are we sure this will work?"

"It is recording."

She whipped her head back around to frown at the camera. "Poe said if I ever got lost to call you and you'd help. I'm not _lost_ , but they are changing ships and I don't think Poe or the Princess General will know what to look for if I didn't make a report, but I can't call base because..." She huffed. "I'm wasting time. Sorry."

The droid touched the girl's shoulder.

She dropped her head back to look up at the droid and then looked at the capture again. "TA-175 said he ap-appended a ship profile for you. I think Phasma is taking us to the Supreme Leader, but I don't know. I do know they got a permit for a lightspeed lane that heads towards the First Order. I don't need rescue, but Poe will worry." She frowned and bit her lower lip. "Tell him I'm sorry about having to get to Finn inside his head, please?"

Kes cursed as the holo cut out. He rubbed at the corner of his eye as the profile came up with a written report he assumed was from the droid. Kaleine, formerly KN-0103 of the First Order, with only an old battle droid to defend her. Kes blew out a slow breath. He put down the report and swallowed.

From the planet she'd called from there was only one real route to the heart of First Order territory. He gulped as the rest of the profile loaded. He threw on pants as he started to make frantic calls. She didn't need rescue his left foot.

****

Leia held her pounding head as everyone around her argued the implications. She rubbed at her temple as she tried to find any sense of Luke. The void where he ought to be was somehow worse than even the little brushes of darkness she caught from Ben sometimes.

The little glowing boy appearing in the middle of it all was just the icing on a particularly tasteless cake at this point.

He bit his little glowing lip as everyone fell silent around him. "Uh, hello." He turned towards her. "Princess General."

She pushed herself more upright. "Yes?"

"The Smuggler General is alright. Satine's weapon makes it so Force ghosts can't appear, but Kaleine said to tell that I protected him, so once the Force settles he'll reappear."

Leia didn't allow herself the sigh of relief she wanted to give because that meant she had a new concern. "I'd like to know how you managed to protect anyone. You're a Force ghost."

The little boy blinked and looked down at his glowing self. "Oh?" He frowned and blinked out.

Leia mentally cursed at the clamor that went up around her. Poe eased up beside her with a cup of tea. She took it with a small nod.

"They're alive."

They didn't actually _know_ that. The children were all certain Kaleine was just angry, not injured. Leia still couldn't find Luke and that worried her. "Of course."

Poe eyed her for a moment before cocking his head. "Permission to go retrieve our missing members, General?"

Everyone around them trailed off and looked at her.

Noilo stepped forward. "Princess General, the Platoon asks to assist in the retrieval."

Lando frowned at her as Wedge frowned down at the boy.

Leia sat her tea down on the nearest console. "You are children, Noilo, and I will not send children into battle."

Noilo frowned. "We're short, Princess General, but we haven't ever been children."

Kann moved to stand at Noilo's shoulder. "We're Jedi Troopers, Princess General. We are going to go retrieve our Master and our Platoon Leader."

Noilo sighed. "Not all of us are Jedi like the old Jedi, of course, but we all agreed on the title. We voted about going. No one wants the Supreme Leader to have Master Luke."

Kann grinned. "Would the Princess General like to send anyone with us?"

Leia felt like pinching the bridge of her nose, but she managed to just glare at the children. "And how, exactly, would you get there?"

"There's three ships here that we all fit in and Jaydavi would pilot for us again."

Leia sighed and rubbed at her temple. The headache was getting worse, not better. She reached for her tea. "You are willing to risk being captured by the First Order? They will not handle you gently."

Korro put his hands on Noilo's shoulders as Finn came to stand by them. "Princess General, we're going to get our people. Will you help or not?"

Leia nodded. "Alright. Fine." She would not ask them if they were certain again. She could see Poe practically vibrating out of his flight suit at Finn's elbow. She rubbed at her temple again. The idea that she'd misread Phasma so badly was going to continue to eat at her. "Volunteers only."

She held her head as everyone started talking again.

****

Kaleine didn't look up from the part she was installing as Phasma crouched next to the duct's opening. "I'm mad at you."

Phasma smiled. "You are resourceful."

Kaleine frowned as she reached for the next part. "You knew I was onboard."

"Of course."

"Am I bait? I don't want to be bait."

Phasma cocked an eyebrow. "I would think Master Skywalker is the bait. You are the wrench in the hyperspace engine, so to speak. It'll explode that way."

Kaleine looked over at her. "I don't understand."

"When we land I will have to report to the Surpeme Leader."

"Right." Kaleine blinked. "Wait. Not you and Satine. Just you?"

"Just me. Where's my little wrench going to be?"

Kaleine cocked her head. "With Satine?" She frowned. "You _want_ us sabotaging things? That doesn't even..." Kaleine looked down at her nearly completed lightsaber. "Master Luke returns, the new Jedi rise." She scratched at the side of her neck. "Can the Supreme Leader make Master Luke wake up?"

"You have taught him how to stay unconscious. I do not believe the Supreme Leader knows what you did to be able to undo it."

Kaleine glanced at Phasma and then down at the lightsaber. "KN-0125 showed me before he died." She bit her lip. "Where's the best place for a wrench?"

Phasma smiled. "I would think Communications. There should be a Trooper designated JB-007 on duty when we land. A wrench to the knee would bother him."

Kaleine frowned at her lightsaber. "Go away before I decide if I'm going to kill you or not."

Phasma went, while Kaleine closed her lightsaber's access panel.

****

JB-007 liked standing guard at the landing pads. It was quiet when no ships were moving. It was exceedingly rare for something to happen without prior notice. The whine of a ship's engine pulled him from his mindless duty stance. He ignored the incoming ship until it was more than obvious it was headed to the landing pad he was guarding.

He reported it and was ordered to stand his ground. They were always ordered to stand their ground. JB-007 frowned as the ship landed and just sat there. No shooting was nice, but also disconcerting.

Several Knights of Ren, and Kylo Ren, appeared from the far building. They stood staring at the ship while JB-007 tried to make himself invisible by holding very still.

The ship's hatch opened and Captain Phasma strode down the ramp carrying something large. Her armor was tarnished in places and she was missing her left lower leg armor.

JB-007 blinked as he realized Phasma had a body in her arms. She said something too low for him to hear to Kylo Ren and they all swept through the door into the far building.

He waited further orders. Someone was going to order a search of the ship, it was just a matter of who was giving the order and who they assigned it... JB-007's mouth dropped open as an under-height Trooper darted from the ship to grab him around his legs.

Behind her came the glowing figure of Anakin, his grin soft around the edges. Behind him came a towering droid and a thin, small statured woman in under armor that looked like Boost.

The under-height Trooper held on as she looked up at him. "JB-007. Master Anakin says that's your designation."

JB-007 stared at Anakin. _What if you weren't just one Trooper?_ He frowned down at the girl without her helmet. "We need to hide you."

She grinned. "I'm Kaleine."

The Trooper from Boost's message _here_. How was he going to keep her safe? JB-007 pried her loose from himself. "Move it." He grabbed the adult female that looked like Boost, who muttered at him, by the arm and pushed on the droid. "Need to move now. They're going to come search the ship."

Kaleine pushed on the female too. "Satine, walk." She looked up at JB-007. "She needs Communications."

JB-007 turned into an access corridor and leaned against the wall as the memory of a redhaired woman came to him. _One day you'll save the galaxy by proxy. She needs something impossible to happen and you know how to help. Communications. She'll say that to you and she'll be...short._ He blinked. That hadn't been in his head a moment before now. He turned and glared at Anakin, who was smiling wider now. "That's a secure area. No one can smuggle you in."

"Boost."

JB-007 eyed Satine for a moment before looking down at the child. "Was running worth it?"

Kaleine nodded. "Yes. Even if I'm caught today and given to the Supreme Leader or _him_ , I'd still have done it."

"I have to get back to my post." JB-007 pointed at Anakin. "He knows the base layout. Go to corridor D8 and wait for me in one of the service alcoves. Just before third shift there'll be two Troopers that will try to sneak into the second alcove from the end, so watch out."

She nodded and patted his leg. "We'll be fine. Satine just needs a Code Six."

"Boost."

JB-007 resettled his helmet. He was too old for this. "Be careful. The Knights of Ren can sense people."

Kaleine grinned. "I'm better than them at Force things."

He forced himself not to snort. Short of a Skywalker, he didn't think anyone was better at the Force than the Knights. He touched her too long hair. "Just don't get caught."

She nodded and grasped him around the legs again for a moment before grabbing Boost's hand and turning towards Anakin. "Direction?"

Anakin nodded to him and lead them away.

JB-007 hurried back to his post and spent the rest of his shift thinking about Kaleine wrapping herself around his legs and what exactly that meant.

****

Mara Jade stared at the stars streaking past. "What do you want?"

_She will understand._

Mara huffed. "Right, Jinn. And I'm a nerf herder." She cocked her head. "Don't you have some place else to be?"

_Not at the moment._

With a nod, Mara sighed as she fingered the crystals that made up her necklace. "Do you think Luke will understand?"

_I can not imagine a galaxy where he would not understand. You have saved so many, Mara._

"Then why do I feel like I haven't saved a single person?" Mara leaned her head against the viewport. "Having Force Sensitives showing up in such big numbers as Stormtroopers no less. And I couldn't save them all, Master Jinn."

_You weren't intended to save them all. That's not how the Force works. I knew the moment I decided to take Anakin from his home what was possible for him to become. You knew what you would unleash when you decided to train them._

Mara softly bumped her forehead against the viewport. "Yes, but why so many?"

There was a snort from Master Jinn. _Mara, we lost a galaxy worth of Jedi in a large swath. What makes you think the Force wouldn't bring the Jedi back the same way?_

Mara groaned and whacked her head just a little harder.

****

Poe frowned down at his personal comm and the new messages indicator blinking at him. He waved at BB-8 and put down the spanner he'd been about to use. Poe opened the first message, which turned out to be from Satine, huffed, and closed it back down. He looked at the second message which was from...his father. 

"How the...?" He jiggled the comm lightly in his palm. "Satine. That crazy moof-milker. Her modification from that first day we talked." He went back to the first message. It had been time-locked to only show up on today's date, but the creation date put it at the first day he'd tried to talk to Satine. Poe read each of the messages. He grinned as the message with the lightspeed lane directions from his father that agreed with the first message from Satine giving him coordinates to a planet deep in First Order territory. 

It only took Poe a few moments to find C-3PO down a corridor from the hangar. "I know where Phasma took them!"

"Oh! Thank the Maker. The Princess General will be so pleased!"

****

"It's a trap."

Leia glanced at Ackbar and then back down at the display. "Yes, I am aware, Admiral."

Ackbar blinked slowly and then pointed at the planet in question. "Why do they not have more TIE fighters on patrol?"

Leia looked at Ele and Jaydavi standing between Finn and Poe.

Jaydavi bit his lip and pointed at one of the landing areas. "There are only a few places on planet where the magnetics don't mess with the instruments. There's usually a Star Destroyer or two in orbit."

Ele tapped the display and enlarged one of the landing areas. "The _Finalizer_ was supposed to report there after the attack on our old base. She usually holds geosynchronous orbit over this landing pad."

Finn pointed at another building. "That'd be Command. If they are using standard layouts."

Poe frowned. "Why are there these buildings in the middle that aren't connected to the rest?"

Korro rubbed the side of his face. "The Knights of Ren."

"Oh." Finn stared hard at the display for a few moments before turning towards Poe. "I don't suppose Satine gave you anything else useful?"

Poe pulled his communications unit from his belt. "I don't have any idea. The techs say it should work like normal, but I keep getting updates from Dad without them logging through the main comms."

Leia raised an eyebrow. "Updates?"

Poe grimaced. "Uh, yeah, well, I think he took offense to Kaleine getting herself sort of kidnapped."

Leia frowned. "Poe."

Poe winced and held out his comm to her.

She took it and scrolled through the messages. Oh, well, it wasn't like she could call him up and tell him to stop. Kes hadn't been under her command in a very long time. She passed the comm back. "Trap or not, our goal remains the same. Rescue our people." She stood and waited for everyone else to stand. "Many of you were part of the Rebellion and now we are the Resistance. The Force...has been with us even in the face of seemingly impossible odds."

She watched her people nod, the children lifted their little chins, and even Poe straightened his shoulders. Lando gave her a smirk from where he was standing behind Poe and Finn. 

"The Jedi said the Force was with them and yet they were nearly wiped out." Leia leaned forward and stared at the detached buildings in the layout. The Knights of Ren. Her son. Snoke. "Getting my brother and Kaleine will mean lives lost." She lifted her head and looked around the room slowly. "The day of this battle will be long remembered. It will be hard fought. We might lose. Or. We will succeed in rescuing our people and show the galaxy a successful attack on the heart of the First Order."

Poe grinned bright. "We won't lose. Kaleine will be ruling the place by the time we get there."

Leia dropped her head forward as she smiled. "Well, we can certainly hope." She nodded to Poe. "Volunteers will leave within the hour. May the Force be with each of you."

Poe saluted her. "Yes, Princess General!"

The rest of the room followed suit even the ones like Wedge and Lando that had no obligation to salute her.

Leia barely kept herself from rolling her eyes at the combined title as everyone hurried out to finish getting ready. Leia waited for the room to empty before she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small bundle with the two kyber crystals. She nudged the one that spoke to her with her thumb. "I suppose it's time for me to make a lightsaber."

****

At the end of his shift, JB-007 hurried while trying to look like he wasn't hurrying at all as he headed for the corridor he'd said he'd meet the others in. There hadn't been an alarm during the rest of his shift so he was certain the under-height Trooper and Boost hadn't been found by anyone else.

He turned the corner into corridor D8 and nearly jerked his blaster around to fire, but he froze as a dozen blasters were pointed his way.

"Oh, he's with us." Kaleine waved from where she sat on the shoulder of the droid she'd brought with her. "Everyone seems to know me." She waved her little hand around at the group of Troopers.

JB-007 pushed forward and hit the nearest Trooper to Kaleine in the shoulder. "Have you all lost your minds? We can't let her get caught. Grouping up in downtime is logged."

One of the Troopers shook their head. "I'm not on downtime."

JB-007 could have strangled them all in that moment. "Back to posts. Quietly. Try not to get her killed before rescue comes for her."

"Rescue?" Kaleine frowned. "You really think someone will come for me? I reported so no one would worry. I mean, I know the Princess General will want Master Luke back, but they'd just come for..." She trailed off and blinked several times. "Oh, rancor shit." She turned to Anakin leaning against the far wall of the corridor. "How long until they get here?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Maybe close to a day? You have plenty of time to organize a rebellion."

JB-007 huffed. He caught MM-3065's elbow. "Get Boost into Communications through the vents. She'll just fit." He pointed at a young Trooper whose designation always escaped him. "Reorder the shifts with swapping so that a shift from now we can take and hold Command. Anyone that is supposed to get within three corridors of the Knights or the Supreme Leader just caught an illness."

A Trooper near the back of the group put up their hand. "Permission to pick symptoms that'll get us isolation protocol?"

He nodded. That'd give them people out of the main corridors and into the Tunnels. He looked at Kaleine. "How many will come?"

She bit her lip. "Giving information to the..." She made a face and looked from Anakin to him and back again. "Probably all of them. Princess General is going to be really mad."

MM-3065 pulled their, his, helmet off. "They'll slaughter us. Millions coming just to get a handful..."

"Millions?" Kaleine scrambled down from the droid and moved through the group to stand between him and MM-3065. "I think your lessons have been off. The informational classes from the holonet say the Resistance numbers at a few thousand."

JB-007 gaped and turned his head to stare at Anakin. "So few?"

Anakin nodded. "It really just takes one to get things going."

Nodding absently, JB-007 turned MM-3065's helmet up and put it back on his head. "Okay. Back to posts. Keep quiet. We can't afford for anyone to catch gossip."

He waited until the corridor was empty of everyone except him, Kaleine, the droid, and Anakin. "Now what? I can't get you any food."

Anakin gestured towards Kaleine. "She has some rations on her."

Kaleine frowned up at them. "What about Master Luke? We can't let him get killed."

JB-007 rolled his shoulders. "He's been taken into a room that's off limits. The Knights of Ren have been standing guard over it for weeks now. It should take several hours for anyone to decide who wakes the Supreme Leader. That should give us until morning."

The droid put its hand on Kaleine's shoulder. "If the battle will not be until tomorrow Commander Poe's soldiers need sleep."

Kaleine fingered the edge of her neck armor as she looked up at them. "Captain Phasma says I'm the spanner in the hyperspace engine, but I don't know how to be a spanner."

JB-007 looked at Anakin. "I don't understand."

Anakin crouched down in front of Kaleine. "What happens when a battle descends into chaos?"

"The Resistance wins because successful battles require discipline and order." Kaleine looked up at JB-007 and bounced a little on her toes. "Oh! _I_ cause chaos. I can do that." She turned back to Anakin. "Uhm, where do I cause the most chaos? Captain Phasma said Communications, but we sent Satine there and she's walking chaos, so where..." She trailed off and stared at Anakin with narrowed eyes. "I can't face _him_. I can't."

Anakin cupped one of Kaleine's armored shoulders. "He's where Master Luke is and he's less scary than you'd think."

Kaleine huffed. "You didn't have to heal Poe's mind. Don't tell me less scary." She bit her lip. "I don't think I can talk him back to the Light like Master Luke did for you."

Anakin gently shook his head. "No, maybe not, but I do think you can give him a swift kick in the backside."

Kaleine fingered her lightsaber. "He's very tall. I'm not sure I can reach."

With a shake of his head, JB-007 pointed towards the rear of the alcove they were in. "You need to hide for now. I'm sure if the Resistance is coming they'll have a plan."

They both jerked as a noise echoed down the corridor. JB-007 motioned for Kaleine to get through the hidden panel at the rear of the alcove. He waited until the panel clicked closed and then gingerly stepped out into the corridor to deal with whatever he found.

****

Kes Dameron did not have a plan, or at least he didn't have a _good_ plan. "How many?"

The gathered Pathfinders, all retired and some with grown descendants trailing along with them, were all looking at a map render of less than half a base.

Maz pointed at one of the courtyards they thought were being used for landing pads. "Sixteen, maybe twenty landing pads."

Kes nodded towards the part of the map that was blank. "How much don't we know?"

With a sigh, Maz looked up at them. "Too much. I haven't been able to get codes for landing. You aren't going to get down to the planet with that Star Destroyer in orbit without proper codes."

One of the Pathfinders gestured to the curve of the horizon. "Come around from the other side of the planet?"

Maz frowned. "No. They have scanners everywhere. I think we might be able to hijack a cargo transport, but that still leaves us the code problem."

Kes rubbed a hand down his face. "We have to do something. I can't just _leave_ her there by herself."

"You said they were mobilizing at Poe's base."

Kes huffed. "It'll take them too long. We're much closer, Maz."

Maz fingered her chin as she blinked slowly. "Prehaps..." She turned and rummaged in a nearby chest. She came back with a strip of dataflim. "Here. Yes." She spread the strip out on the table. "What does that look like to you?"

The jumble of letters and numbers looked like gibberish to Kes. He frowned and then turned his head to stare at Maz. "Codes? You just said..."

"Well, maybe. It was a transmission from Mara Jade. She said I'd need it one day. She didn't say _what_ I'd need it for." Maz tapped the datafilm. "The Force is with her and therefore with us."

Kes smiled grimly. He had helped blow up a shield generator with less of a plan once. "Let's go hijack a cargo transport."

****

Han watched as his ship was loaded to the seams with kids and weapons. "Hey! Don't put that in there. The whole ship will blow if it falls over and shoots that flow control."

The former TIE pilot loading weapons just turned the damn thing around. 

Like that was going to fix it. Han went looking for Chewie to tell him about it, but got sidetracked by one of the kids tucked into a corner of the _Falcon_ 's corridor to the main cabin.

"Hey, kid."

The kid glanced up at him and went back to hugging her pillow. "General Wedge said we had to take breaks. I'm breaking."

Han sighed and sat down next to her. At least now that he was dead he was able to get up off the floor without groaning now. "You are taking a break. Saying you are breaking means a whole different thing." He stuck his hand out. "I'm Han."

She eyed him before digging her chin into her pillow. "You're the Smuggler General."

"That too, but you can call me Han."

She frowned, but nodded. "I'll remember."

Han sat with her and waited.

"You fought battles."

"I did." Han cocked his head. "You...want to know about them?"

She rubbed her hands down her pillow. "Were you ever scared? Kaleine is scared, but she does what needs done anyway. Poe says scared is fine. So does Mad Jess." She looked at him. "What do you say?"

Han leaned forward and made a motion that if he'd still been alive would have smoothed the corner of the pillow where it was sticking up. "Yes. Yes, I was scared. Everyone with any sense is afraid of battles. Afraid of getting shot at. Afraid of dying."

"Then why to people have battles? If it scares everyone, why fight?"

"Some things are worth the battle." Han frowned. "Wow, I sound way too much like Luke. Okay, let me rephrase." Han thought for few moments. "I knew my boy might kill me, but I stepped out onto the walkway that led to him because I had a slim chance of talking him back home. I would have given anything for that chance. It didn't matter that my hands were trembling. I took the chance presented to me."

"Will Princess General take that sort of chance?"

Han sighed. "Yes, without a doubt."

The kid nodded. "The Princess General is worth fighting for."

"Yeah. Now you're getting it." Han stood up and waved the kid up. "Come on. I have a weapon I need you to move so we don't have my ship blow up on accident."

"Why did you name the ship Garbage-will-do?" She tucked her pillow into the wall storage as she spoke.

Han blinked. "I didn't... _what_? What do you..." He stomped down the corridor. "Chewie! What the kriffing nine systems have you been calling _my_ ship in front of the kids?!?"

****

Kylo Ren stood and stared down at the still form of Master Luke Skywalker. He couldn't feel his former Master within the Force surrounding them. He pulled the body's right sleeve up and frowned at the metal of the forearm. With a huff, Kylo turned towards the far corner of the room and pulled his helmet off.

He took deep shuddering breaths as he tried to stave off the unwanted instinct that was urging him to take up his former Master's body and run. He had no where to go after all. Kylo dropped to sit on the end of the platform Master Skywalker was laid out on.

He knew _better_ now. He knew what a lie the Light was. The fakeness of belonging when he had never fit anywhere. He pressed his shaking hands together. He had to prove he could do this. He had to make his...

Kylo bit the inside of his cheek as he looked across Master Skywalker to the small still form laid out beside his former Master. The child was _his_. Kylo nodded to himself and put his helmet back on.

The child and Master Skywalker were both _his_ and no one, not even his current Master, was going to take them from him now that he'd found them both.

****

General Hux stared out into space from the bridge of his ship. He tried to ignore that his uniform had a faint smell of melted durasteel from having to cut into the door of his quarters. The lower rank officers were all chattering amongst themselves about Phasma having showed back up earlier in the evening. Like it was a miracle of some sort.

Hux sighed quietly as the latest cargo transport appeared over them from hyperspace. He listened with half an ear as the transport was given permission to land at the base below. He stepped over and watched the scans over the junior officer's head as the space around them showed nothing of note.

Nothing to fight. Nothing to do. He sometimes felt he'd been born too late. Yes, he had a cause to fight for, but it wasn't anything as _grand_ as the stories of Empire. He turned and faced the great expanse of space in front of his ship.

He would prevail regardless. The First Order would restore the core glory of the Empire to the galaxy. His was the just path, the right... Hux stepped forward half a step and squinted at the black of space. What was... He stepped back. "Alert! Bring up the shields!"

Alarms started blaring as ship after ship appeared. X-Wings. A few E-Wings. Corellian YT freighter. Even an ancient U-Wing. Hux listened to the chatter of orders going out as he stepped back over to the scanners. "Anything else?"

The junior officer started to shake their head, but then they froze. "Sir..."

Hux could see it. He looked from the scan to watch as the Resistance fleet formed up. He grinned. Finally. He would crush them under the FIrst Order's heel. "Launch every TIE fighter we have."

"Aye, sir."

****

As the cargo transport they'd stolen touched down it seemed like the entire base erupted around them. Troopers were running to and forth with no seeming pattern. Kes watched from beside the pilot's shoulder.

"It isn't us."

The pilot shook their head. "No. Resistance fleet just dropped in."

"Well, that makes us late." Kes gathered up his Pathfinders. "All right. Faster we extract them the faster we can get off this rock. Let's go." He inclined his head for a moment as the cargo hatch started to open. "May the Force be with us."

****

Wedge muttered to himself as the fleet dropped in from hyperspace. The _Finalizer_ was sitting placidly in orbit. Wedge formed up between Kun and Snap as Poe ordered everyone to attack position. They raced towards the _Finalizer_ to block for the _Falcon_ and other transports that were going to make the run on the base.

Wedge snapped his head from looking at his console as his astromech started sreeching. "What? I thought we were sure there was only the one Star Destroyer." 

He stared open mouthed at the huge ship that had just dropped in above the Resistance X-Wings.

"What the kriffing rancor piss is _that_?"

Wedge started to laugh. He'd never seen one outside of a holovid. Big, beautiful, and painted in Rebellion colors. "Poe, that's a Venator-class Star Destroyer."

Poe's X-Wing rolled enough to port for Wedge to see Poe glaring up at the newly arrived ship.

Wedge winced as his comms gave a short squeal of feedback.

"Hello out there. Has anyone seen my wayward husband? He's a Jedi with a tendency to get himself into trouble. I'm here to rescue him."

Wedge whooped and followed Poe's X-Wing up to slot in against the Venator-class' hull. A red section of hull gleamed as they flew along it. "Mara! Poe, it's Mara."

"Yeah. Caught that." Poe's X-Wing accelerated towards the _Finalizer_. 

Kun's X-Wing rolled and Kun pointed up towards Mara's ship. "Ships, Black Leader. She's giving us ships."

Wedge smiled wide as the number of X-Wings climbed and just kept climbing.

"This is Rouge Platoon reporting in. We are to follow the orders of Black Leader."

Wedge rolled his X-Wing to look down into Poe's cockpit. "Well, Black Leader? What are we doing?"

"Let's make some room for her pretty ships." Poe gave him the hand signal for break off and form a new squadron. "You just became Gold Leader, General Antilles."

Wedge snorted. Like he'd ever been anything more than a pilot. "Alright. Seven ships follow me." He rolled his X-Wing up and out to give the ones following him room to form up on him. He turned so the _Finalizer_ was squarely in his front sights and frowned. Where were the TIEs? There should be loads of TIEs by now. "Command, are you seeing this?"

****

Leia frowned at the viewport as she listened to Admiral Ackbar snapped out another order. Mara's ship was following their down vector and moving to put itself between Ackbar's smaller Covette-class ship and the _Finalizer_. Leaving room for the _Falcon_ to lead the way down. "Lieutenant Connix, any word from the planet yet?"

"There's a squad of Pathfinders just landed, ma'am." Connix frowned as she glanced up from the _Falcon_ 's small display. "There's no enemy chatter. No First Order frequencies running at all."

Leia nodded. "Any sign of enemy fighters?"

Connix turned towards Leia with wide eyes. "None, General."

Leia narrowed her eyes at the display.

****

Hux slammed his hand down on the offending console. "Then manually launch them! I don't care what it takes!"

The junior officer ducked her head. "Sir, we'd lost intership communications."

Hux whirled and pointed at the nearest Stormtrooper. "Carry a message down to the launch bays. Tell them to launch, dammit!"

The Stormtrooper saluted and disappeared down the corridor.

Hux turned back to his officers. "Get my ship working! I will not see the First Order lose to these...these laserbrains!"

The already frantic movements of his bridge redoubled. Hux stormed over to the viewing wall and fumed as his ship's turbolasers valiantly tried to hit the incoming enemy X-Wings. Hux craned his neck trying to see where the E-Wings and that U-Wing had gotten to.

****

Kes lead his spearhead formation down another deserted corridor. The few Stormtroopers they'd come across since entering the building had already been laid out on the corridor floors. The next intersection was just a empty and just as identical to the last intersection they'd gone through. "Any ideas on direction?"

The flare of blue light to their left was surprising enough that three people fired on it before Kes called them down. The being that formed out of the blue was someone Kes only recognized from holocaptures. He pointed down the corridor to Kes' right and faded from sight.

Kes huffed. "Just what I need. A dead Jedi Grandmaster leading the way." He flicked his hand to signal they were going right. "Keep moving."

Down the corridor they found another door with two Troopers huddled around it, looking like they were working the lock. Neither even lifted their heads as Kes' group surrounded them.

"I'm telling you if we have to get in there."

The other Stormtrooper seemed to finally notice them. The second one lifted their hands and nudged the first with their foot. "Uhm, MM-3065, we've got company."

"I've almost got it."

"Company!"

MM-3065 turned their head and froze. "Uhm. Please don't kill us." The Trooper pointed at the door. "We're trying to get the Jedi for Kaleine."

Kes blinked. "You work for Kaleine?"

MM-3065 held their hands up. "She says we work for ourselves."

The other Trooper sighed. "And that's going so well."

MM-3065 elbowed the other Trooper. "Don't. They'll kill us."

"We're not going to kill you." Kes lowered his blaster. "Get us through that door." He turned and pointed at his medium gunner. "Set guard at the far intersection." He turned the other way and nodded to Maz's best bouncer. "Last intersection is yours."

The bouncer gave a short nod and took a pair of Pathfinders back the way they'd come.

Kes turned back to the two Troopers. "What's through the door besides a Jedi?"

MM-3065 shrugged as they pulled another wire. "We're not entirely sure. Troopers aren't allowed beyond this door. Kylo Ren makes us wait here."

Kes motioned forward one of their youngest members. "Help with the door."

"Aye, sir."

Kes pulled gently on the other Trooper's elbow. "Help me make a map while we wait." He held out his data tracker and watched the Trooper stare at it. "Please?"

The Trooper's head snapped up. "Oh. Right." The Trooper's helmet cocked to one side. "Uhm..." The Trooper reached up and pulled their helmet off to reveal a sweaty woman that looked around Poe's age. "What's the most important to put on it?"

Kes took the helmet and shoved his data tracker into the Trooper's gloved hands. "Control points, where all the important people were last known to be." Kes watched the woman work out how to make a label on the map. "Kaleine's position."

MM-3065 whooped as the door slid open with a whine.

****

Finn licked his lips as he and Korro readied their blasters as the _Falcon_ 's ramp clanged down outside the closed hatch. 

"Everyone be as careful as we can be. We have friendly Pathfinders in this mess somewhere." General Leia clapped Finn on the back before nodding for the hatch to be triggered open. "Let's go get our people."

Finn started down the ramp. He scanned left as he listened to the Platoon's boots on the ramp behind him. The landing pad next over had the cargo transport that Flight had said was the Pathfinder's stolen vessel.

Chewie moved ahead of them and stuck his head around the lip of the open blast door. He turned and motioned everyone forward.

As they moved into the corridors they started passing downed Troopers. Finn frowned at the blaster marks. 

Korro knelt down next to one of them and looked up at Finn. "Some have followed our example, Finn."

Finn nodded. He could tell they needed to go left. "That way."

Rey ghosted up to his left side. "You feel it?"

"Hmm." Finn motioned to the right. "That sounds like blankness." He pointed to the left. "That feels bad."

"Agreed." Rey fingered her newly build lightstaff's hilt. "General, do we split up?"

General Leia gestured to the left corridor with a lift of her chin. "Bad feelings first." The glowing form of General Han snorted behind Leia's shoulder.

"Yes, that has always worked out so well for us."

Finn ignored the indignant noise from the General and the soft spoken argument they slipped into. He motioned Noilo forward. "Can you feel Kaleine at all?"

Noilo frowned and shifted his hold on his blaster. "She's being quiet." He nodded towards the left corridor. "That way, I think."

Finn lead them on.

****

Hux kept his head bowed.

"Are you incapable of fighting a single space battle!?"

Hux bit the inside of his cheek to keep from snapping that it wasn't _his_ fault. "Supreme Leader, the TIEs are unable to launch and there are far more X-Wings than the Resistance could muster alone."

Supreme Leader Snoke tutted and gestured, his hologram hand disappearing into the side wall of Hux's shuttle for a moment. "You abandon your duty? And for what, General?"

"You are far more important, Supreme Leader."

With a huff, Snoke leaned forward. "Than is there another reason your ship is moving further away, _General_ Hux?"

Hux swallowed. "You should not trust Ren. He will betray you." Hux grabbed at his throat.

"Betrayal is nothing new. Is it?" Snoke grinned. "Enjoy your fate, Hux."

Hux gasped for air as the transmission and the pressure on his throat both disappeared. He took several gasping breaths before staggering up to the pilot's compartment. "Why haven't we gone to lightspeed?"

The pilot on the left shook their head and turned to point a blaster at him. "We hear the food is better with the Resistance, sir. Hands up, please."

****

Phasma stood tall as Supreme Leader Snoke stared down at her.

"Did you know Hux would attempt to flee, Captain?"

Phasma inclined her head just enough to let her helmet reflect the gleam of the light coming from behind Snoke. "He has always appeared excitable, but I had not thought him a coward, Supreme Leader."

"Hmm." Snoke shifted and folded his hands in front of himself. "I understand you brought back with you the Jedi Skywalker."

"Yes, Kylo Ren ordered him taken away, sir. I had sedated him for the trip, but he could wake at any moment."

Snoke gestured to a side door.

Phasma held herself very still as the door slid open to allow Kylo Ren entry with two floating medical beds following behind him.

"You have not woken him?"

Kylo stopped near Phasma, half obscuring the two beds from her sight. He bowed his head. "I have tried everything, Master."

Snoke frowned and slowly stood. He came down the steps to them and touched the foot of one medical bed with a fingertip. "Everything?"

Kylo lifted his head. "Yes, Master."

Snoke gestured to Kylo. "Show me your true face."

Phasma frowned as Kylo's helmet came off. He was paler than normal, his hair far sweatier than she'd ever seen it.

Snoke stepped around the medical bed's side and started to reach out to towards Kylo...

Phasma gasped as Kylo side stepped towards the bed closest to Snoke, leaving the other one in plain view.

Both Kylo and Snoke turned their heads towards her.

Phasma bit her lip for a moment before speaking. "Sir, there are reports of Resistance fighters on base." She flicked her channels and listened as chatter starting up to back up her statement.

Snoke grabbed the back of Kylo's neck and pulled him down towards the nearer medical bed. "You must choose to be a Sith. Embrace the power of the Dark side. Kill them both."

Phasma steeled herself.

Kylo shook himself from Snoke's grasp. "They are _mine_."

Snoke blinked, frowned, and blinked again. " _What_ did you say?"

"I believed he claimed my brother as his, Snoke. Or has your hearing gone as well as the skin from your face?"

Phasma slammed herself forward into the medical beds and tried to land with herself between the bodies and the coming fighting. "You are late, Princess General!"

Blaster fire shot over her head as Kylo ignited his saber somewhere behind her.

"At least we came!" Finn sounded annoyed as he started shooting at Snoke and Kylo.

Phasma grinned and started pushing the medical beds towards the far door. Zeroes appeared at her elbow and pushed as well. "Glad you could join me."

"Could have just asked, Captain."

Phasma fired on the guard coming towards them. "What fun would that have been?"

Zeroes shook his head. "Keep pushing."

****

Rey kept her lightstaff between Snoke and General Leia as Kylo circled around Finn. She could hear the armor of the children shifting somewhere behind the General.

"We've done this before, FN-2187."

Finn adjusted his stance as Kylo took another step. "The name's Finn and if I remember right you were beaten last time. _Ben_."

Kylo yelled and lunged forward. He deflected blaster fire with his saber, but then there was a blue shoot that slid right through his saber and when Kylo tried to use the Force to stop it...He flinched back as the bolt slipped harmlessly through him followed by another bolt that Kylo barely managed to deflect enough it only seared his arm.

He stared at Finn. "What?"

Han grinned. "Didn't see that coming, did you, boy?" He shoot his blaster again.

Kylo flinched away from it even though it passed through him harmlessly. He drew up short as Finn feinted with his lightsaber.

Snoke snorted. "You know nothing of the Force."

General Leia lifted her chin and came around Rey to stand in front of Snoke with Noilo shifting to stay on the General's heels. Leia glared up at Snoke. "You think you know the Force? Is that right?"

He sneered at her. "I am more powerful than any pitiful Jedi has ever been..."

Rey jerked as Kylo lunged. Finn yelled as Han tried to grab for his son. The platoon surged forward. Leia smiled for a fleeting moment before they all crashed together.

****

Zeroes went to his knees as they hit a wall of _pain_.

Phasma panted and started shaking Luke's foot. "Wake up, laserbrain." She dropped next to Zeroes. "He needs to wake up."

Zeroes pulled on the medical beds' sheets as he passed out, taking both bed's occupants to the corridor's floor with him.

****

Mara Jade fell to her knees on the bridge of her ship. "Oh, Maker." She clutched her stomach as the pain swept over her. "Please..."

****

Poe let BB-8 take over the controls as his head suddenly felt like it was splitting open. He managed to tell BB-8 to get them down to the base before losing himself to the pain.

****

Luke felt the Force ripple around the pocket he was hiding in. He glanced around himself. "That can't be good."

The Force flared and Luke gasped at the amount of pain it was carrying.

"Oh, no." He stood up and moved to the seam of the pocket. "Kaleine?" He frowned as the pain increased. "Kaleine!"

The pocket ripped open. Satine floated in the space around the pocket, tendrils of power pulsing around her. "You're needed, Jedi Prince."

Luke lunged forward...

He landed half on Zeroes. "Ugh." He coughed as Phasma fired a blaster over his head at someone further down the corridor. "Wha..." The pain was _worse_.

Phasma shook his foot. "Get moving, Jedi Prince."

Luke shook his head to try to clear it and then stared at the little body laying on Zeroes' crumpled form. "What?"

Kaleine slammed into the medical bed's side. "KN-0125!"

Phasma shook Luke's foot again. "Take Kaleine and little Bail. Get them out of here before the rest of the Knights come, Jedi Prince!" She shoot again as shouts came from down the corridor.

Kaleine blinked at Phasma. "You said a name. His name..." She looked down at Luke. "Oh, this is where I know exactly what to do."

Luke tried to force himself to sit up, but Kaleine floated KN-0125 onto Luke. "No. Kaleine..." He coughed as the little boy's weight settled onto him.

Kaleine patted his hand. "I've seen this, Master Luke. The Force is my ally." She stood and clambered up TA-175. "Captain Phasma, protect them." She turned her head to the side. "I know where I'm needed."

****

Rey stood over General Leia and Kylo as Snoke's lightening streaked around them. Finn was pressing a field bandage into the General's side as she did the same to Kylo's chest. 

Snoke was screaming as he unleashed more Force lightning.

Rey stepped closer and tried to keep her breathing even as the lightning arched around her without touching any of them.

"Why?" Snoke jabbed at Rey with his hands, but the lightening slid around Rey to ground out on the Force shielding of the platoon ringing the General's group.

"The Force is with us." Rey braced herself and started forward.

Snoke screamed for Kylo, for the Knights of Ren, for the Dark side to bring him power as he threw himself at Rey.

****

Kaleine slammed Snoke into the wall behind him. "You hurt my family." She jumped down easily from TA-175 and lifted herself across the melted floor to hover near Snoke. "You should apologize. That's what good leaders are supposed to do."

Snoke snarled and threw a hand out towards Kaleine.

TA-175 slid between Kaleine and the Force lightening. Sparks flew.

"No!" Kaleine grabbed for TA-175, but was caught and held by Rey.

****

Luke grunted as Phasma pulled on him to get him upright. "What happened?"

"Short version? I kidnapped you and Kaleine kidnapped herself and her droid and now we're kidnapping KN-0125."

Luke shook his head and heaved Zeroes onto the same medical bed with KN-0125. "Why did you call him Bail?"

"His is the last name we've been waiting on." Phasma shoved on the bed and then on Luke. "Move it. The Knights are going to get through Satine's defences and hit the Pathfinders soon."

****

Kes huddled down with MM-3065. They were pinned and the Knights of Ren were going to cut through the blast door any minute. "I don't suppose you know of another way out of here, do you?"

The wall panel along the blast door slid open and a Stormtrooper stuck their head out. "We need to go!"

"JB-007!" MM-3065 pulled Kes towards the other Stormtrooper. "This is Pathfinder Kes."

The Trooper nodded and beckoned. "Need to go. Captain Phasma is headed this way with the Jedi Prince."

Kes grabbed the Trooper's shoulder armor. "What? How do you know that?"

JB-007 pointed at his own helmet. "Channels. Boost has Resistance comms on 18 after you put in the right name authorize the decryption. First Order is channels 1 through 13 now that Boost has let them start back up, but they don't have any encryption."

Kes rubbed the side of his face before turning towards Maz's bouncer. "Rig us up for comms as we move."

The panel in the wall closed after the last of the Pathfinders had slipped through. Moments later the Knights of Ren burst through the melting blast door. The lead Knight snarled and swept from the room.

****

Kylo stared up at his dead father. "I'm one with the Force." He coughed as his mother pressed so hard with the bandage.

"Shh." Leia leaned further over him. "Keep breathing, Ben."

He _hurt_. Everything was pain and he was pain. He blinked as the light around him brightened. "I'm...one...with the..."

The little boy was _his_. "Force?" The boy patted his cheek. "You've been lost."

Kylo blinked at the space-field they were in. "I know..." He frowned and stared at his boy. "I found...you. Didn't I find you?"

The boy shrugged. "Don't remember." He poked Kylo's side with a tiny finger. "Why did you try to kill Princess General?"

"Princess General?" Kylo sank in the space-field. It was...light. He didn't want light...did he? "You mean my mother?"

Another poke, somehow harder than the last one. "Are you still lost?"

Ben blinked. "I'm angry."

"Everyone is angry." The little boy pulled on Ben's ear with a sharp tug. "Kaleine says Poe says it is what you do with your angry that's the important part."

"Anger."

The little boy poked him again. "Everything is Force and the Force is everything." He frowned. "I think I'm dead."

Ben forced himself to sit up. "No!"

The little boy started to fade away. "At least I'm one with the Force. That's better than nothing."

"No!" Kylo screamed as he jolted out from under his mother's hands. "No." He stood and pulled his saber to him. He held himself upright with the Force as he advanced on Snoke, flicking the droid, the child, and the scavenger out of his way. "You killed my sister and told me it was _my_ fault."

****

Leia gripped her lightsaber as she followed in Ben's wake. The damage she'd done to Ben's chest in the confusion was going to have him down on the floor again in no time. She allowed Finn to keep pressure on her wound as she moved. The tear wasn't too deep. Ben had gotten his saber turned off before he'd cut into her too deeply.

Rey and Kaleine fell in with her, guarding their respective sides as Leia readied her saber.

Snoke fumbled with the fold of his robes. "I made you powerful. I showed you the truth!"

Ben flicked his hand and Snoke rose up into the air by his throat. "You broke me. And I broke my family. I won't lose what's _mine_. Not this time. The Force is _my_ ally."

****

Luke flipped the last Knight around and let Phasma's blaster blot do the job. He fell to his knees as the Force _flexed_.

Phasma leaned against the corridor wall and stared down at him. "I think it worked."

The little body on the medical bed along the far wall of the corridor, where they'd pushed it just before the fight, moved with a faint groan.

"Worked?" Luke pushed himself upright and struggled to get across the corridor to the medical bed. "What worked?"

"Making Kylo Ren angry."

****

Satine gleefully cackled as the Force played along her lines and the signal grew stronger. Almost had it. Almost found...She let the furry Wookie pick her up and carry her away from the Code Six as the base began to burn.

The Troopers were leaving, following the protocol sent under General Hux's name. She patted the Wookie as they gathered up the Pathfinders and the Troopers she'd sent to keep them safe.

Lady Jade was coming down. The Last Name had been said. The last defense could be lowered. Satine sighed and laid her head against the Wookie's shoulder. She could rest at last.

****

Kaleine grimaced as the Princess General's pale pink lightsaber flared up and through the Supreme Leader's chest and back. She kept the Force push from _him_ contained as Snoke slid to the floor, the smell of brunt flesh pouring into the air.

She eyed _him_ as he fell down next to the smoking body of Snoke. The Princess General knelt, but let Finn tend to _him_ as Rey took Finn's place at the Princess General's side. Kaleine moved closer.

"Does he still need a swift kick in the rear?"

Smuggler General patted her shoulder. "Not right now, kiddo."

Kaleine blinked and sank down against TA-175. "Oh, good. I'm tired."

The Princess General giggled. "Tired? Oh, you are in so much trouble young lady."

Kaleine laid her head on TA-175 and listened to the mechanisms inside the droid whine. "Okay." She turned her head towards Finn. "All the Troopers know our names."

Finn grinned. "Yes, they do."

Kaleine turned her head towards the door as Commander Poe and BB-8 tumbled into the room. "Poe!"

Poe knelt next to Kaleine and Finn. He eyed everyone as he took Kaleine's hand. "Kaleine?"

"I think I need to sleep, Poe."

Poe gathered her up and Kaleine lulled her head on his shoulder. "That's okay, Kaleine."

"Still a horrible firing position." She grinned at the Princess General before turning her face into Poe's comfortable shoulder. 

She faded into sleep as the Princess General's laughter bubbled up.

****

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to everyone for putting up with me. I moved to a new position at work faster than I expected last year and that just sapped my energy like you wouldn't believe. It was supposed to happen some time in the fall, but it happened at the end of April. I literally went to work came home and slept and got up to do it again the next day. Weekends were more sleeping. So. Hopefully this year will go better as far as writing goes. My job review's thing to work on was that I offered too good a customer service. I'm a bit salty about that. Which means I'm going to do more with fic even if it means I'm tired at work.


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